This Week In History, 6-9-11

Misses Lena Wigner and Miney Elliott have opened a dressmaking
establishment and are turning out lots of work, with customer satisfaction.

Scotch McDonald of Sycamore was in town and took home a wagon
load of furniture.

The family of Hagan Barr will spend the summer at their
residence in this town. We are glad to have them back with us.

A.W. Hallenbake returned on Saturday from a trip all over the
county, repairing watches, clocks, etc. He said that the average man in this
county has a heart as large as your hat.

A serious cutting affray is reported from the West Fork, near
Orma. A young man by the name of McCune wanted to marry a damsel by the name of
Lane, but her brother had objections and a controversy arose. The report is that
McCune fired two shots with a revolver at Lane, whence Lane drew a knife and
proceeded to carve McCune up. McCune fired two more shots, none of the four
taking effect. McCune is reported to be in a very serious condition.

1961,
50 years ago

The possibility of a state forest being established in Calhoun
was discussed Monday at a meeting of Grantsville Lions Club.

Dick Van Linde, chief of planning and development for the State
Conservation Commission, told of plans and answered a number of questions.

Under consideration for such a project is a section along the
Little Kanawha River in the Bee Creek section, between Grantsville and Big Bend.
The com-mission has taken an option on one tract of a little over 1,000 acres
owned by Hughart Stump.

The proposed forest would encompass from five to ten thousand
acres of land.

1986,
25 years ago

A civil suit involving what may be the largest settlement of a
personal injury claim in the history of Calhoun was concluded. On the eve of
going to trial against Union Carbide Co., three pipeline workers who had been
injured in a fire on Mt. Zion ridge in August, 1982, accepted a settlement of
$110,000. A co-defendant, Shafer Pipeline Co., contributed an additional
$60,000. The plaintiffs also received about $55,000 in Work­ers Compensation
benefits.

The gist of the action dates back to Aug. 4, 1982, when
employees of Shafer Pipeline were repairing a high pressure liquid ethane
pipeline owned by Union Carbide.

At about 2:30 p.m., although the line was pressurized and in
operation, three Union Carbide inspectors departed the work-site, taking the
only explosimeter with them, allegedly aware the Shafer repair crew still had
another hour of work to complete. The Shafer workers were in a ditch line close
to the leak site. At about 3:30 p.m., there was a flash fire. Flames filled the
ditch and shot 30 to 40 feet in the air. The fire continued to burn through the
night, described as being similar to “a giant candle.”

Brown escaped with second degree burns on his hands and
forearms. Goodrich and Shafer sustained second degree burns to about 25% of
their total body surface. Goodrich was unable to work for six months, Shafer two
months, and Brown had minor injuries.